Flight (TWD S1)
by ToskaDre
Summary: Cassie Miller is just a kid, she shouldn't have to worry about survival but there are no children in the apocalypse, not for long. Her mom has always been the most important thing in the world to her, just as she is to her mom and they will do anything to protect each other, now more than ever. Season One of the walking dead. Eventual CarlxOC in future fics.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note: **

**This is the first in a line of walking dead fanfictions that I'm planning following my OC Cassandra/Cassie. It's going to be following the Tv show through the first few seasons but then I'm going to start diverging due to certain aspects of the show that I don't agree with or wish were different. It'll start to get very different and pretty much go completely AU if I choose to continue it after Season 7 because this is ultimately a Carl Grimes/OC fic. If I do then I'll probably be taking inspiration from the show and the comic books but mostly going my own path at that point.**

**This article sums up pretty well how I feel about what The Walking Dead recently; sites/erikkain/2018/02/26/the-walking-dead-just-made-a-huge-unforgivable-mistake-all-over-again/#796eb1bd25fa **

**Hopefully the chapters will get longer as I go, this one seems pretty short to me?**

**Also I'm British and this isn't beta read so if you notice any words or phrases that are British rather than ****American please feel free to point it out to me and I'll change it. **

**I haven't wrote fanfiction, or any fiction actually, in a long time so I'm quite rusty at it, feel free to review and leave constructive criticism because I probably need it haha**

**Chapter One**

It's all about blending into the background and making yourself as unnoticeable as possible. If you're quiet and stay out the way, out of their line of sight, then maybe they'll forget you're there. It's an art that Cassie has perfected over time with a lot of practice. It's easier at school where there are so many other kids screaming to be heard, wanting attention and so little staff around to cater to their needs. Home however is a very different story; Staying out of her father's way and being able to predict his mood has become second nature to her, a necessary skill for survival. He hurts her mom a lot more than her as he only hurts her when mom isn't around, and mom tries to never leave us alone together for too long if she can help it, even though her mom doesn't know he hurts her sometimes too, he generally leaves her alone when her mom is around. She doesn't know why her mom stays with him but she does know that if she knew he was hurting her too she would be so unbelievably angry, her mom is the most important person in the world to her and she knows she feels the same way.

She wants to tell her mom about it, more than anything, but he had warned her that if she did he would hurt her mother even more, maybe even take her away for good and she knew couldn't risk that, her mom was everything to her. She was her best friend; her only friend actually and she didn't know what she would do if she lost her.

"Cassie!" the loud yell jolted her out of her thoughts, white knuckles gripping onto her school backpack in fright. It was her schools English teacher, Miss Ralph, looking down at her with concern. "Are you alright dear?"

"Sorry Miss, I was daydreaming."

"That's alright sweetheart, are you waiting to be picked up by someone?"

"No, I walk home." She said, shaking her head.

Miss Ralph's frown became even more pronounced, "Even now?"

"It's not far and I like the walk." She smiled at her and hoped she would leave it alone.

Miss Ralph hummed, not sounding convinced but to her relief let it go, "Okay, I don't have to give you a lecture about staying on populated streets and stranger danger do I, Cassie?"

"No Miss Ralph, I promise I'm always careful. I walk straight home with no stops and don't talk to anyone I don't know on my way."

"That's good Cassie, I know you're a smart and mature young girl but there's a lot of weirdness going around right now. Just on the news just last night-"she cut herself off suddenly, "well you don't need to know about all that nasty business, just be extra careful on your way home today okay?"

Cassie nodded dutifully and waved as Miss Ralph wandered off towards a group of younger students milling around just outside the school.

She sighed, beginning her trek home slowly, it was always best to take as long as possible to get home in order for her mom to get back from work before her. The streets weren't particularly busy today, mom says the flu going around has got everyone scared and staying in but that wasn't really an option for her because of _him_.

A shrill scream had her whirling around, her breath catching and then releasing just as quickly as two younger kids ran past, chasing each other and laughing.

She didn't know what was wrong with her today; there was something in the air that had her on edge. All the adults at school had been acting strange and looking worried all day and the fact that more than half the school had been out sick had made the school quiet and eerie.

She quickened her steps, hoping her mom was already back because she didn't want to be home alone with her father but she felt too exposed and vulnerable being out on the street right now to walk as slowly as she usually did.

A weight lifted off of her shoulders when she came up to her house, noticing her mom's car parked out front.

Like always she took care opening the front door and closing it softly behind her, casting glances around to keep an eye out for her father.

"Cassie?" her mom's soft voice came from the kitchen.

As she entered the kitchen her mom smiled wide and seemed to slump in relief, "I was so worried."

"Why?" she asked, before looking back at the kitchen door, "and where is dad?"

"He's in the living room sweetie, just head straight up to your room in a minute okay? I was worried because there's been more and more news of those sick people attacking people; you didn't see anyone acting strange on your way home did you?" her mom asked, hugging her.

"No." Cassie shook her head, "The streets were almost empty, it was weird."

"Everyone's staying in and packing up, the news said people should be getting evacuated real soon to the big cities to better treat people for whatever sickness is making people do this. The military will be there too in order to protect us."

"We're leaving? But what about school? And your work?"

"Schools not going to be open sweetie and no one's really going into work either, not unless they have some important job to do, the whole town will be evacuated. I need you to go pack some clothes, toiletries, and anything else you want into a backpack but make sure it's light enough to travel because we might have to walk a ways okay?"

She nodded, swiftly and quietly running up the stairs. She emptied her school bag out and used that, throwing in the all the essential things she needed before perusing her bookshelf. She really wanted to take her Harry Potter books but all of them would be too heavy together and it would be silly to just take one or two. Eventually she decided on a new book a relative had gotten for her last Christmas that she hadn't gotten round to yet, The Fault in Our Stars. She didn't really know anything about it and neither did her aunt who got it for her when she asked but she had assured her that it seemed very popular at the moment.

A loud crash sounded from downstairs followed by yelling that startled her, the words were muffled by her closed door and she knew better by now than to go check it out, but the urge to check on her mom was still overwhelming making her clench her fists tightly, fingernails digging into her palms. Instead, she took a deep breath and exhaled, calming herself and simply hoping they would be evacuated soon, he was always nicer around other people, or at least he pretended to be.

She was gently shook awake the next morning, her mom sitting on her bed beside her, leaning over her, "Cassie, time to get up sweetie. We've got a busy day, need to make sure we're all packed up and ready to leave so we can get on the road as soon as we need to. Looks like we'll be going to Atlanta, the news said they're setting up a refugee centre with military protection there and that's where the CDC is so I bet we'll be the first to know as soon as they figure this thing out."

"CDC?" Cassie mumbled sleepily.

"It stands for the Centre for Disease Control sweetie, it's where they test all the nasty diseases and find cures; they'll figure this one out too, you'll see. Now come on, up and at 'em."

Cassie groaned but did as she said; looks like it was going to be a long day.

Long day was an understatement in the end, it took hours for Cassie and her mom to make a list of what they were going to take, pack it all up and move it out into the car for a quick getaway and then her mom insisted they clean the house top to bottom to make sure it was nice for when they got back. She was just glad that her father, after dictating to them all the things he wanted of his packed up to go, had taken the opportunity to go down to the local bar to drink the day away.

By the time he stumbled back through the front door, Cassie and her mom had finished everything that needed doing, ate and settled in front of the television. Her father came home basically falling through the front door cursing loudly, making both of them tense.

"Fucking piece of shit!" he yelled, tripping onto his hands and knees. "Jen! Jenny! Get your ass o'er ere and help me up 'nd into ma chair!" he slurred.

"Cass, go upstairs and play in your room until bedtime okay?" Her mom whispered to her, pushing her towards the stairs before standing and making her way to over to help him.

"Hey! Where're you runnin' off ta princess?" his voice calling out to her stopped Cassie in her tracks.

"She's tired Kev, packing up and cleaning took all day, we only just finished. Let her get to bed okay?"

"Fine. Fine Whatev'r! Go! Get outta ma sight!"

She didn't need to be told twice, shooting up the stairs two at a time into her bedroom, sliding the lock closed after her.

It was barely even seven but once she got into her pyjamas and ready for bed she found that she actually was tired after all. Getting into bed she hoped that they'd be going to the refugee centre soon, she couldn't stand staying home all day now that she wouldn't be going to school.

She fell asleep wondering what it would be like at the refugee centre, wondering if it would be easy to blend in to the background there or if they'd notice what her father was doing to her mom, if they'd stop him.

"Cassie. Sweetie, wake up." She awoke to her mom whispering in her ear in the near pitch black.

"Mom? Wha's goin' on?" she whispered back.

"We're leaving for the refugee centre now."

"Now?"

"Yeah sweetie. Your Dads friend got attacked yesterday by one of those ill people; he's not doing well honey, so we're heading to the refugee centre together with him and his wife to get him some help."

She got up out of bed and they rushed around, Cassie grabbing her backpack, her mom getting any last minute things they needed to take and checking the appliances were off before they were all standing around the front door ready to leave. Her father got right in the car, impatient to go but she stayed next to her mom who was dawdling just outside the house.

"Mom? What's wrong?"

"I don't know sweetie. It just feels..."

"Feels... what?"

Her mom shook her head briskly, long blonde hair whipping around her face, "Never mind, I'm being silly."

The car horn blared loudly into the night, jolting Cassie.

Her father was leaning out the driver's side window, "What the fuck are you doing?! Get in the car now!"

Her mom pushed her forward gently, "Come on, we need to get to your fathers friends house, they're waiting for us."


	2. Chapter 2

(A/N): I had hoped this chapter would be a bit longer but I was really struggling through it. The action should pick up in the next chapter along with the word count hopefully.

The stop at her father's friend's house was short. She stayed in the car with her mom while her father helped his friend's wife get him into their car and then they were on the road again with the two following closely behind them.

They had barely gotten onto the highway when they came to a standstill; the road was crammed with cars hardly even crawling forwards. They moved along at a snail's pace for hours, the sky lighting up around them and getting dark again as time past slowly in tense silence, they ate some of the food they packed into the car and only stopped for gas and sparse bathroom breaks.

Cassie had just fallen asleep in the back of the car when the car behind them honked loudly and pulled their car off the road, her father following suit, pulling up in front of them and getting out of the car.

Cassie rubbed her eyes, watching the wife of her father's friend approach out of the back window. Her mom was watching too, cracking her window slightly to listen in.

The wife looked haggard, "He's doin' real bad kev. I don't think he's gonna make it." She sounded close to tears.

"We're almost there. Surely he can make it another hour or so, just give 'im some painkillers and let's get there already."

"Kevin, he's _really _bad. I don't think he's even gonna make it another half an hour and last we heard they still didn't have any clue what this thing is, never mind how to treat it." She really was crying now.

Her father sighed and nodded, though he mostly just seemed annoyed.

"Alright, look... if he's not gonna make it to the refugee centre... well there's not really much more we can do is there?"

She was outright sobbing at this point.

"Look, they said these sick people can be dangerous. You don't want to be in the car with him if he suddenly rages out and attacks you. We need to leave him behind." He told her sternly.

"I'm not leaving him on the side of the road!" she shrieked.

"Lower your fucking voice." Her father's voice was low and dangerous; it was a tone that made Cassie flinch. She wondered if this woman was familiar enough with her father to recognise the warning signs, while her father drunk and yelling was definitely scary, quiet and intent was terrifying to a whole other degree.

She sniffled, wiping at her face, "Please Kevin, he's still my husband. I can't just leave him at the side of the road to die." She pleaded.

He softened his voice slightly, taking her elbow, "We'll take him into the woods a ways okay? He doesn't seem like he's gonna get violent, he's too weak. Seems he's just gonna pass quietly, we'll leave him somewhere quiet and pretty."

She nodded, shaking lips tilting up very slightly in a grateful smile.

"Go get your things from the car, we'll grab ours and meet you over there." He directed her back to her car.

He opened his car door, leaning down and sticking his head in, "Get your stuff and get out, we're heading into the woods."

"It's too dark, it'll be pitch black in the woods." Her mom protested.

"Just do what I fucking said." He growled, slamming the door shut.

Her mom clenched her jaw, hard eyes staring after him before she took a deep breath and turned around in her seat to face Cassie.

"Put your backpack on sweetie; let me know if it's too heavy though, I packed some water and food in there along with your things."

Cassie nodded, moving to grab the bag next to her but a hand on her arm stopped her, she turned back to her mom who was biting her lip and looking at her with worry clear on her face.

She clearly had something to say, "Cassie..." she hesitated, "Just make sure you stick to me okay? I'm going to have your hand the whole time. No matter what your dad says, you stick right by my side you got that?"

Cassie nodded her head, her face serious.

"No sweetie, speak. I need you to promise me okay?"

"I promise mom."

Her mom squeezed her arm before letting go, "Okay, let's go then. Stay in the car until I come round and get the door for you."

Her mom got out, removed her bag from the trunk before opening Cassie's car door to let her out. They took each other's hand as they made their way to the other car where her dad was positioning his friend on a blanket on the ground.

He picked up one end as they approached and set off into the woods dragging him behind him, barely sparing them a glance nor heeding his friends groans of protest at being dragged across the uneven ground in his state.

They had barely gone a few feet into the woods when her father barked at her mom to get a flashlight from her bag and shine it in front of them so he could see where the hell he was going. They continued on for what felt to Cassie like hours, stumbling over branches and uneven ground with only the sound of their footsteps and her father's friends continuous, pained groans.

The patch of woods her father finally stopped them at seemed no different to Cassie than the rest off the woods they had just trampled through but she was glad to be stopping in any case, her feet were rubbed raw and she was pretty sure they were bleeding.

"Here?" the woman whispered, not seeming to want to disturb the eerie silence surrounding them.

"It'll have to do; I'm not dragging him any further. We'll gather some leaves and stuff to cover him up and maybe a big stone for the gravestone if there's one."

The man on the blanket gave a breathy rasp, "Oi, I'm not dead yet Kev."

Her father just looked down with cold eyes at the man who was his friend then turned and started collecting twigs and leaves.

The woman knelt by the head of the husband and spoke with him in hushed whispers that Cassie couldn't make out until the man rasped out painfully, "Just go." And the woman let out a quiet sob before joining Cassie's father.

"Hey." The man was looking at her mom; he beckoned her closer to him weakly.

Cassie didn't want to approach the man, he was sickly pale, covered in sweat and she had heard scary things about the sick people and how violent they could get but she was forced to follow her mom when she wouldn't let go of her hand.

Her mom knelt by his head like the other woman had so she could hear him, though Cassie had no need to due to her small stature, "They're together. They've been sneaking around for years behind our backs, fucking like-" he cut himself off with a quick glance at Cassie.

"This isn't news to me." Her mother's voice was hard.

He glared at her, the sickly glow to his skin and red of his eyes enhancing the look, "You knew?" disgust clear in his voice despite how quiet and scratchy it had become.

"My husband's infidelity is the least of my concerns and you've been friends with the man for years now, you know very well what kind of man he is. Did you imagine he would treat his friends with respect when he doesn't even with his wife?" she stood, clearly done with the conversation.

"He'll choose her." He rasped louder. "It will come down to a choice between her and you and your girl and he'll choose her." He sneered at her.

Her mom turned back to look at him, to anyone else she may have seemed completely emotionless but Cassie knew her mom well enough that she could hear the slight amusement in her voice, "Maybe, but if you hadn't noticed the worlds kind of going to shit and eventually, it may come to a choice between her and himself and he'll do what he has always done; He'll choose himself."

A loud explosion of noise startled them all and the sky above them lit up briefly, it was deafeningly loud. It sounded like when someone was dropping bombs on tv but so much louder. Her mom gripped her as her father and the woman came running back through the trees, "What the fuck is that?" her father demanded.

Her mom was staring up at the sky as the sound and the light came again, and again more rapidly now.

"They're dropping bombs." She said her voice shaking and just barely audible over the explosions.

The woman spoke up shrilly, "Atlanta? They're bombing Atlanta?"

"Stop freaking out." Her father demanded unsympathetically, "Atlanta was always a shit idea anyway, we knew even if we made it they couldn't help him, they had no fucking clue what this thing is."

"So what do we do?! Where are we supposed to go?!" the woman was yelling now, the explosions still going on behind them.

"We'll camp out in the woods for the night then in the morning get the rest of our stuff from the cars and trek further out into the woods, keep away from other people and wait for the fucking military to sort this shit out."

Cassie is the only one who had noticed over the sounds of the bombs and the woman freaking out that the rattling breaths of the man at their feet had stopped. She was staring at the man on the ground, his body completely unmoving now.

This was the first time she had ever seen a dead body but there was no mistaking that he was gone, the unnatural stillness was unsettling.

"Mom." Her voice was barely above a whisper and the bombs were too loud.

She shook the hand that was holding hers trying to get her attention but couldn't tear her eyes away from the man's body.

"Come on! We'll set the tents up here and keep an eye on-" her father cut himself off as he saw his friend.

"Oh god. Oh god!" the woman sobbed having also noticed, running towards her husband and collapsing on her knees at his side.

"Don't. Get away from him." Her mom warned the woman sharply, pulling Cassie back a few steps.

"He's dead!" the woman yelled back.

"The news... it said they were coming back and that's when they attack." Her mom pulled her back a few more steps.

"Don't be stupid." Her father barked harshly at her mom, "people don't just die and come back like that."

"We should put up camp somewhere else for the night, we shouldn't stay too close to him." She said replied softly.

"What did I just fucking say?" he demanded.

"No... I can't sleep right here knowing he's lying just outside my tent." The woman sobbed.

Her father sighed, "Fine." He bit out. "We'll cover him up with the leaves and move a bit further out to set up for the night."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you so much to those who review, favourite or follow my story, it gives me the motivation to write this story and I really appreciate it. This is my first real attempt at writing a story in years and it can be difficult to do because I'm not used to it anymore, whereas years ago I could barely breath for jotting down story ideas or writing; school really does suck the curiosity and creativeness out of its students.

Cassie and her mom slept in one tent that night while her father slept in the other with the woman. She was glad for the sleeping arrangements as they were but knew, despite her age that it was unusual and wrong that her father had spent the night with a woman who was not his wife, though her mom really didn't seem to mind. She had agreed readily when he stated he was sharing with the woman and if anything had seemed relieved.

Everyone was quiet that morning as they packed up after a very short nights rest, the sun had hardly been up when her father woke them. They had a small dry breakfast of cereal bars and water then finished packing and started back towards the highway in silence, though Cassie always was silent when she was around her father anyway and her mom knew it was generally best to keep her thoughts to herself than to risk angering him. The other woman just seemed sad though; her eyes were red and puffy having obviously cried in the night. She wondered if her father had consoled her, it seemed unlikely to her as he had always got angry when she or her mom had cried, claiming we were trying to get our way with crocodile tears.

"What. The. Fuck." Her father and the woman had stopped just in front of them and looked stunned, staring at the ground.

She was completely confused until she heard her mom breath out, "He's gone." With confusion in her voice.

They were back were the left her father's friend yesterday, the leaves they had scattered over him were spread around the site but he was gone. They all cast their eyes to the trees surrounding them but there was neither movement nor sound other than the wind rustling the tree leaves.

Her father put a hand on the woman's back, pushing her forward, "Come on, let's get back to the cars quick."

She pushed him off, "No! He-"

He cut her off harshly, "Shut up. We're not searching the woods blindly, stumbling around looking for a dead man."

"He's not dead! He can't be! Dead people don't just get up and walk off!" she yelled back.

Her father got right in her face, his voice dropping low, "Whatever the fuck he is, he is gone. Now shut your fucking mouth and get moving." He gripped her arm, pulling her along with him with a sharp glance back at us to make sure we were following.

The woman kept pace with him, having no real choice in the matter, what with the grip he had on her arm yet she was twisting and turning her head as she went, no doubt looking out for her husband as though he would appear out of nowhere like nothing had happened.

Slowly as they went on and there was no sign of her husband she lost her look of anticipation and retreated back to the despondency from before. Eventually, they reached the edge of the woods where they had left their cars and her father held up a hand to stop them before they broke the tree line.

Peeking out from where they were hidden from view she could see the highway was still packed with cars though many had pulled off to the sides of the road as they had done. Many people still sat in their cars or on them, seeming to be waiting for something, like they were waiting for instructions of what they should do next. Many other cars however had been emptied and abandoned by their occupants who had left and walked off who knows where. Maybe they thought there was still something salvageable in Atlanta and had decided to walk in the rest of the way to try to find the refugee centre.

The woman tugged on her father's arm, "We should wait here with the cars; at least we'll be round other people and know straight away when help comes."

Her mom's head jerked round from where she had been watching the people on the road to look at the woman, "No. There are too many people here and no supervision or emergency services. Give it another day or two and people will start getting desperate, mass panic will spread and people will start looting and attacking each other."

Her father nodded in agreement, eyes still on the people on the road. The woman shot her mom a dirty look, not happy that she had been shot down or perhaps that he had agreed with her mom over her.

"Okay, we should be alright for now to go get our things. I'll help Karen get her stuff from her car and you and her can get our things." He directed to her mom, jutting his chin at Cassie when he referred to her.

Her mom gripped her hand tighter, "Stay right by my side the whole time, keep a grip on my sleeve or the bottom of my top if I have to let go of your hand. I'll grab the things from the car, you just make sure you stay close and keep an eye out for anyone approaching us, Okay?"

Cassie nodded, gripping her moms hand back hard. Her mom walked out nonchalantly, her stride confidant, quite the opposite from her father who kept a low crouch and sped towards the other car looking unbelievably suspicious and drawing people's eyes from the odd behaviour.

Looking up at her mom she saw her roll her eyes in clear exasperation and annoyance, before fixing her eyes upon their car and holding her head high, walking with purpose. They were getting a few looks too, nowhere near the amount her father was getting and these looks Cassie recognised from whenever she was out with her mom anywhere; envy or scorn from other women and lust or appreciation from the men. She knew her mom was beautiful and not just in the 'she's my mom and I love her' way but in the objectively gorgeous way, anyone she knew who met her mom always commented on it. It always made her happy when people complimented her mom in any way, she was the most amazing person in the world to her and it was nice to have people recognise even part of her amazingness.

Everyone not giving either her mom or her father looks just looked worried and anxious, none of them had a clue what to do now with no instructions and were just waiting in limbo for something to happen. Once both parties had reached their cars and it was clear they owned the cars, almost all the onlookers turned away, disinterested.

Her Mom was busy transferring anything she deemed important from the trunk into another backpack so she did as she asked, keeping an eye on their surroundings, watching to see if anyone tried to approach but she got distracted watching some of the people on the highway.

There was a girl who couldn't be more than a year older than she was, sitting in her dads lap at the side of the road while he was comforting her, patting her head as she clung to him. It made her feel envious and a kind of longing, she wished she had a father who would comfort and love her too or at the very least a father who didn't scare or hurt her.

"Hi." An unfamiliar voice coming from close by jolted her from her thoughts, literally making her jump in fright, both feet momentarily leaving the ground.

"Sorry!" the young woman that had been standing next to them squeaked, holding both her hands up as though we were holding a gun on her. Cassie's mom was holding a hand to her chest like she did when she had a fright so she had clearly not seen her coming either, Cassie looked down at her feet guiltily, she was supposed to have been keeping an eye out for people.

"Can I help you?" her mom asked her, polite but with a hard edge in her voice as she stepped in front of Cassie to hide her from the woman's view.

"I'm so sorry I frightened you and your little girl, I was just wondering if you knew anything about what happened at Atlanta. Or if you know somewhere else we could go." She really did sound sorry and she seemed like a nice person.

"We heard the bombs and saw the light from the explosions but that's it I'm afraid, we don't know anything either." Her mom told her.

"Damn, that's a shame. We're all just sitting here waiting for the military to come tell us what the hell is going on, there's been radio silence since Atlanta was bombed."

"I wish we could have helped; hell I wish we knew what the hell was going on too."

"Jenny!" her father barked as he stormed over, "The fuck are you doing?!"

This time it was the woman who visually jumped, turning to face Cassie's father with pure shock and offence written all over her face.

"She was just asking if we knew what was going on with Atlanta and the military, I was-" her mom tried to explain but he cut her off, "Do we look like the fuckin' military?"

The woman held her hands up again and backed off, "Whatever dude, just tryna' have a polite conversation with your..." her eyes flickered to the other woman who had came and stood behind her father and back to Cassie's mom, "...sister?"

Cassie understood the young woman's misunderstanding, neither her mom nor the woman looked like her father but at least both her mom and father were blondes with green eyes just like Cassie, whereas the woman had brunette hair so dark it was almost black and dark brown eyes.

"It's none o'ya business whose who to anyone here! Fuck off!" he yelled, practically spitting in the woman's face.

People were looking at them again, practically craning their necks to see what was going on. Cassie moved into her mom, pushing her face into her back to avoid their eyes.

"Fine! Fine, Jesus!" the young woman threw her hands up and stormed off.

He turned on her mom, "What the fuck was that about? I told you not to talk to anyone." He hissed at her, grabbing her arm roughly.

Cassie screwed her face up; she didn't remember him saying anything like that at all.

Her mom didn't argue though, it was easier to just go along with him, "She approached me, I didn't see her until she was right next to me. There was nothing I could have done about it."

"Could have told her to fuck off." He snapped, giving her arm a shake before releasing her, "Have you got all the shit together or what?"

"Yeah almost, just give me another minute."

He grunted, "Fine, be quick about it."

Her mom finished transferring their things from the car into a backpack then closed the trunk door and locked the car back up, heading straight back into the woods again the way they had came, all the eyes of the people on the highway following them.

Once they made it far enough into the woods that her father was satisfied, at least for now, they took a break to eat. By this point Cassie's feet were burning, she had a blister she knew was going to pop at any moment, the pain from it had had her holding in tears for the past half an hour as they trekked through the woods./p

The next two days past in exactly the same manner, her father was never satisfied that they were far enough into the woods or that they had set up camp in the best spot, so every morning after breakfast they would pack up and begin their trek, stop for lunch then carry on until they stopped for the night. At this point Carrie's feet were almost constantly bleeding, her shoulders and back aching from carrying her backpack constantly and legs feeling like dead weight.

Everyone's mood dropped drastically with each day that went by, her father's worst of all. Her mom was sporting a large purple bruise across her check and the other woman whose name she had somehow still managed to not learn had purple marks around her wrists that she had spotted but if the woman had any other marks they were hidden from view.

It was another day of stumbling along through the woods and Cassie didn't think she could go on much longer, they'd barely begun their day she was already dragging her heavy feet along and holding back tears from the pain. They weren't even an hour into their trek when Cassie stumbled and hit the ground hard, the weight of her backpack slamming her into the dirt.

"Cassie!" her mom yelled, immediately crouching next to her and pulling the backpack from her to release her of its weight, then rolled her over onto her back and checking her injuries.

She could already feel she had scraped her knees and elbows up pretty bad and her chin which she had hit hard as she landed but no pain could top the pure burning and throbbing of her feet. She couldn't hold the tears back anymore; they coursed down her face leaving tracks of clear skin where the dirt had caked on her face. She let out a series of gasps and hiccups, fingernails digging into the ground underneath her as she stared straight up at the sky blinking profusely, trying to gain control of herself before she started sobbing.

"Oi, get her up and moving! We need to get a move on!" she heard her father yell from somewhere behind her head.

She tried harder to get herself under control, taking deep shuddering breaths but they still came out in gasps and hiccups, her entire body shaking. She wanted to be strong and get up but she was in so much pain and even the thought of standing on her bloody, blistered feet once more filled her with dread.

"_Mom_." She whimpered between gasps.

"I know sweetie, I know. You're gonna be okay, tell me what hurts and I'll check you out and you'll be right as rain yeah? Just tell me everywhere it hurts Cass." Her mom pulled her hand from where she had dug it into the ground, clutching it in both of hers.

Cassie let out an unwilling sob, "M-my feet..._mom_"

Her mom shuffled down to her feet, carefully pulling her shoes off. She let out a gasp as she took in Cassie's blood soaked socks, painstakingly peeling them off and muttering out a slew of apologies every time Cassie whimpered or gasped in pain.

When Cassie looked down towards her mom she saw her with her hands over her mouth and tears in her eyes as she took in the sight of her feet.

"Cassie, why wouldn't you say anything? You must have been in agony!" she cried out, tears spilling out of her eyes.

"She's _gonna_ be in agony if you don't put her fucking shoes back on her feet and get her up and moving!" her father roared.

"She can't go anywhere like this! Her feet are destroyed! She needs to have them treated and keep off them for a few days at least!" her mom argued, actually yelling at Cassie's father, if she wasn't in so much pain she might have actually been able to appreciate it more, she wished she could see his face right now but he was still behind her head from where she was lying on the ground.

"DON'T YOU DARE YELL AT ME! GET THAT UNGRATEFUL BITCH UP AND WALKING OR I'LL LEAVE YOU BOTH HERE TO DIE!" he bellowed.

_Then again maybe she didn't want to see his face._

"Then leave, we don't need you." Her mom's voice was chillingly cold.

She could hear her father's footsteps stomping towards them angrily, "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME BITCH?!"

He stormed past her head, grabbing her mom from where she was crouching and pulling her so her face was centimetres from his furious one.

"Now you listen to me," his spat, his voice low and full of venom, "you don't talk back to me, you don't argue and when I tell you to do something you better fucking well do it."

He shoved her away with force, causing her to land hard on her ass.

He turned on Cassie making her tense her whole body, she knew he was going to do something, he normally barely acknowledged her presence around her mom.

"Get up. Or I'll make you."

She gulped, nodding quickly and moving, pushing her upper body up with her elbows and gritting her teeth through the pain. She was just beginning to contemplate how she was going to get onto her feet in the least possible painful way possible when her mom stood, putting herself between Cassie and her father.

"Don't you dare touch her!" she spat.

He back handed her hard enough to send her sprawling across the ground once more, stepping over her body as he raged, "FUCKING WOMEN TELLING ME WHAT TO DO! I TELL YOU WHAT TO DO! NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND!"

He pulled Cassie from the ground by her arm, her feet coming up underneath her unthinkingly to steady herself causing pain to shoot all the way from her the soles of her feet and up her spine to her head. She screamed loudly, her knees buckling under her until they crashed into the ground.

She was panting, head hanging with blonde hair falling in her face as her arm was pulled back at an odd and painful angle from where her father was gripping her. He suddenly released her without warning causing the rest of her body to fall, only just barely catching herself with her arms to avoid her face smashing into the floor.

"MARIE! LOOK OUT!"

Cassie rolled to the side to see what had her father sounding so panicked.

The woman's husband had finally reappeared and brought two others with him as well, only there was something _wrong_ with them.

They were stumbling along; dragging their feet with their arms stretched out towards the woman Cassie had finally learned was named Marie.

There was her husband and another man and a woman, all wearing disgustingly dirty clothes with tears and dirt covering them, matting their hair and faces too. Their skin was a gaunt grey pallor, their eyes sunken in and wide, making it easy to see that the eyes were basically taken completely over by the whites of their eyes. Whatever the illness had done to them, they didn't seem _human_ anymore.

Marie's husband, or perhaps what had once been her husband, grabbed her by the hair and pulled her face towards his as she screamed. Cassie's father ran to help but just before he reached the man... _thing_ had already sunk his teeth into her cheek, her screams turning from a scared panicked sound into ear piercing shrieks as he tore the flesh from her face.

Cassie's father pulled Marie back away from the _things_ as she held her hands to her face, high pitched whines and sobs coming from her mouth as blood poured between her fingers and down her arms.

Her mom appeared at her side while she was distracted watching in horror at what had happened, turning her onto her back and helping her sit up, hovering over her while keeping an eye on the _things_ that attacked Marie.

To their left, her father pushed Marie behind him and pulled a gun from his waistband at his back, aiming it at the group and firing off a shot. It hit the husband in the shoulder making him jolt backwards and stumble only slightly before he continued towards them just as before.

He let off another shot, this one hitting the woman _thing_ in the leg causing it to go down, face planting the ground. It caught sight of Cassie and her mom when it looked up, changing its direction and pulling itself across the ground towards them making horrible groaning noises as it clashed its teeth together repeatedly.

"KEVIN!" her mom yelled, trying to get his attention but even as he glanced their way and saw their predicament, he ignored her cry and turned back to the two things in front of him and Marie. They were almost on him and her now; he had enough time to let off another shot that went over their heads, nowhere near close to hitting them. When he realised how close they were now he grabbed Marie from behind him, fumbling and dropping the gun when she struggled, and pushed her into the _things_ waiting arms.

Cassie's mom pulled her further back from the woman _thing_ still pulling herself towards them, then dived for the gun by her father's feet as he was distracted by Marie's high pitched screams as her husband and the other _thing_ ripped into her flesh with their teeth.

The horrific sight made Cassie turn back to the one still pulling itself towards her; if it reached her it would sink its teeth into her and rip her apart just like the others were doing to Marie. She began to panic, shuffling back as best she could on her ass, only using her arms to push herself back, knowing using her feet in any way would only slow her down due to the pain.

Her mom stood with the gun, aiming it at the one going after her daughter first and not hesitating to pull the trigger.

She couldn't look away from the woman's blood stained face, not until her mom came into her field of vision, blocking the view.

"Cass, hey baby, don't look. You're okay." Her mom murmured, caressing her hair.

"HEY! GIVE ME THE GUN QUICK!"

Her mom stood to face Cassie's father, who was standing a few feet to their left holding his hand out waiting for her mom to bring him the gun impatiently.

He hadn't noticed that his yell had gained the attention of the two_ things_ that had been devouring Marie; they stood, revealing the gruesome mess of Marie, who had been torn apart, to Cassie. She pressed a hand against her mouth hard, to conceal her gasp and keep herself from vomiting as her stomach churned at the sight.

Instead she watched as the two things stumbled towards her father as he waved his open hand at her mom, narrowing his eyes in anger when she didn't move.

They were almost upon him when Cassie had to look away, she wouldn't say she loved her father, but she didn't want to see him get ripped apart, didn't want to see anyone get ripped apart again.

Turning her face right, trying to get him out of her field of vision she was surprised to see another figure in the trees, for a moment she thought it was another one of those _things_ but then she took it in properly and saw it was a man holding a crossbow. He had the crossbow trained on the _things_ behind her father, but wasn't making any further moves.

"GIVE ME THE FUCKING GUN!" her father yelled at her mom, making Cassie whip her face around in reaction without thinking about what she was doing. She had turned back just in time to see the two _things_ grab hold of her father and see the realisation and horror cross his face right before they bit into him. She had never heard her father scream as loud as he did then and still her mom held the gun on him and the _things_ yet never fired a shot.

Cassie turned away from the scene, partly in horror but also to check on the man again; he had lowered his crossbow now and was looking back and forth between her father being devoured by the monsters and her mom who had lowered the gun and was looking on with an impassive face.

Her father had started out throwing verbal abuse at her mom, calling her awful things and cussing her out but now he had begun begging; begging her mom to shoot the _things_, to help him and eventually as the _things_ continued to rip into him, for her to just shoot him, to put him out of his misery but still her mom watched and did nothing as his voice faltered and his eyes closed, his face going slack.

Now her father had fallen silent, Cassie could hear the slurping and crunching of the monsters eating his flesh. She heaved, trying to keep the vomit down but knowing it was coming, she turned spewing it on the ground at her side.

"Cassie!" her mom knelt by her side, her hand soothing her back.

She wiped her mouth, turning to hug her mom. She squeezed her hard, watching her father die like that had been awful yet there was an undeniable feeling of relief that he was gone like she had wished for, for so long.

Cassie's eyes flew open with the realisation that she had wished for him gone and now he was, and in such an awful way too. She felt responsible somehow, like she had made it happen.

Movement caught her eye over her moms shoulder; the _things_ had gotten up again and were coming for them now!

"MOM!" Cassie yelled, pointing over her mom's shoulder.

Her mom shot up onto her feet, turning and pointing the gun at them again.

She fired multiple shots at them, the shots hitting them in their shoulders and bodies yet barely even slowing them in their advance. An arrow flew from their right, burying into the head of one of the _things_, stopping it in its tracks as it immediately fell to the ground, unmoving and didn't get back up.

Cassie and her mom's head whipped round, the man had moved forward out of the shelter of the trees. He looked as dirty as the _things_ but you could easily see he wasn't one with none of the grey decaying skin or weird groaning.

"You've gotta get em' in the head." He nodded at the remaining one.

Her mom turned back to the _thing_ that used to be Marie's husband and raised her gun, firing off a final shot that pierced his head. He fell backwards onto the ground, as unnaturally still as he had been the first time he had 'died'.

"Is he really dead this time?" Cassie asked, her voice quiet and timid in the presence of a stranger.

"He always was dead but naw, he ain't getting up again." The man told her, "We have to go, those shots'll have attracted more if there're any more round 'ere."

"Go where? And who the hell are you?!" her mom demanded.

He gave her a long look before responding, "I 'ave a camp further in, people who were on their way to Atlanta but didn't make it in before they lit it up. Families and kids there too." He nodded towards Cassie.

Her mom was hesitating, biting at her lip before she shot a look at Cassie's feet and her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"We'd appreciate it if we could join you there." She paused, giving him a hard look. "But if you try anything or this is a trap I'll put a bullet through your head."

He just smirked in reply.

Her mom gathered up their stuff and the man offered to carry the extra bag her father had been carrying. She thanked him and stood, walking over to Cassie and pausing, biting her lip again.

She sighed, "Actually, could you carry my daughter and I'll take the bag."

"Girl can't walk?"

"Her feet have been wrecked, we've been walking for days." Her mom gestured to her bloody feet.

He raised his eyebrows at the sight, making his way over and crouching so low in front of her he was basically sitting on the ground.

"Get on then, ain't got all day." He said gruffly.

She reached up, gripping his shoulders to help pull her up; her mom noticing her struggling came behind her and helped her on so she didn't have to use her feet.

She got a head rush as he stood, not used to being so high.

As they set off she noticed a bunch of dead squirrels hanging off one of his shoulders; she took him in or at least what she could see, the squirrels, the greasy, dirty hair along with the smell of sweat though she realised she probably smelt just as bad if not worse than he did, the crossbow he was clearly adept with and finally, she noticed the wings on the back of his leather jacket.

There was nothing about him that gave off a nice, warm, friendly vibe. He didn't seem like someone who would help a little girl and her mom with nothing to gain himself, and yet he had and she found herself trusting him almost implicitly despite having just met him. She knew he hadn't helped her father when those things had come after him despite clearly having the ability to, she thinks maybe he somehow knew what kind of man her father was, the kind of man who they were better off without.

"What's your name?" she whispered, knowing he would hear because she was so close to his ear.

"Daryl Dixon." He grunted.

"I'm Cassie."

"Didn' ask."

Cassie smiled, taking no offence in his gruffness; actually she found it rather funny. He was clearly a good person, even if he wanted to pretend he wasn't.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry if this is taking too long to get off the ground, but the introductions are important to me because I really want to build Cassie's relationship with certain people before everything starts like in the tv show. I don't like the thought of just skipping ahead and being like alright Cassie has a good relationship with these people but I'm not going to show how they got there; especially because her relationships with people are going to be individual and have different aspects to each of them that are easier to showcase when building those relationships.

Ultimately, this isn't just a Carl/Cassie fic but one which is about Cassie's journey and relationships with Team Family.

Entering the camp on Daryl Dixon's back seemed to attract a lot of attention, the camp was full of people and almost all their eyes were turned to them as they approached making Cassie turn bright red and duck her face down so it was hidden in Daryl's shoulder.

Daryl took her and her mom over to an RV where an old man greeted them with a kind smile, "Well hi there, who's this?" he asked, smiling kindly at Cassie and her mom.

"Hi, I'm Jenny and that's Cassie. It's nice to meet you." Her mom offered the old man her hand to shake.

"Nice to meet you both, I'm Dale. Welcome to the camp, there's quite a few other people round here too, though some do like to keep to themselves. Shane's kind of in charge in camp, he's a police officer so you go to him if you need something or have any problems round camp. Of course, you can always come to me if you prefer and I'll help wherever I can."

"Thank you, Dale that's very kind of you-" her mom started to say before Daryl cut her off,

"Girl needs her feet seein' to."

"Oh! Yes I see. Those aren't looking good, come on in and set her down in the RV, I've got a first aid kit that should have what she needs."

She tried not to flinch as he was bandaging her feet up but it was difficult and after a few whimpers slipped out Dale started speaking in an attempt to distract her, "There's a few other kids your age here too for you to play with. You'll have to wait until your feet are healed to go running around with them but they're nice kids so I'm sure they won't mind sitting with you while you heal."

She went red, keeping her eyes on her lap as the thought of having to talk to a group of kids she didn't know was making her anxious.

"Thank you for helping us out." Her mom sighed in relief, her shoulder slumping from the stress of the day.

"No problem, anytime."

Daryl showed them to an empty spot in camp that they could set up in, dumped her on a log carefully despite his stiff demeanour and then stalked off immediately without a word.

"Friendly guy." Her mom commented, looking at Cassie with amusement.

She smiled at her mom briefly, eyes immediately flicking back to Daryl as he stalked across camp and out of her sight, "He's nice."

"Nice? He's a good person no doubt, helping us out like he did and letting us join the camp here but I'm not so sure I'd categorise him as _nice_."

Her mom joined her on the log, putting her arm around her and squeezing comfortingly and speaking softly, "Cass... Cassie. What happened today... you shouldn't have had to see that. I should have-"

"I wished he would die, all the time." Cassie interrupted, her voice wobbling, "I'm _glad_ he's not here anymore but I feel like...like I made it happen."

"Cassie, look at me. It is _not_ your fault, wishing something is not the same thing as doing it and if it was then I would be more at fault then you could ever be, believe me. Let's just be glad he's gone; we will never have to be afraid of him again."

Cassie nodded, burying her head in her mom's shoulder and wrapping her arms around her middle.

Her mom set about putting up their tent while Cassie watched people going about their business around the camp; they seemed friendly for the most part. If she made eye contact with someone they would smile and some even came over and introduced themselves to her and her mom. She met two sisters called Andrea and Amy who seemed fun, especially Amy who seemed excited to meet her. There was also a guy called Glenn who was really friendly and told us to let him know if we needed anything because he made runs into town to get supplies, mom was really worried about it but he assured her that he's never had any trouble because he's fast and just gets in and out quickly. Some women came over to meet her mom, but Cassie only remembers the name of one because she spoke to her specifically, her name was Carol; She told her that she has a daughter her age that she could play with and that thinks she would get along really well with, called Sophia.

She's never got on so well with the kids from her school, being too quiet and not wanting to invite anyone over because of her father. She didn't have to worry about him anymore, but she doesn't know how to act around kids her age anymore either.

It didn't take long after that for the kids in camp to come around, they ran up to her and her mom in a group, startling Cassie with their loud voices overlapping each other as they rushed to introduce themselves and bombard her with questions. There were only four of them but they managed to speak over each other so loudly that she couldn't understand a single one of them.

"SOPHIA!" a man bellowed from across camp, "STOP ALL THAT FUCKING RACKET!"

Cassie went stiff, eyeing the tall girl who had gone white and curled in on herself slightly, hunching her shoulders. That must be Sophia, she instantly reminded her of herself when her father would yell at her, never knowing what he was going to do.

Her eyes flickered to the man who had shouted, a fat ugly mean looking man standing with Carol who had gone red, keeping her eyes on the ground.

The kids had all gone quiet, shooting quick glances at Sophia who was avoiding eye contact with everyone until a brown-haired boy stepped forward, thrusting his right hand towards her suddenly, making her flinch back automatically. He falters for a second before smiling again, "I'm Carl Grimes. This is Louis and Eliza Morales and Sophia Peletier."

"Cassie Miller." She replied quietly, keeping her head down and barely looking at him.

He beamed back at her anyway, "Cool name! Mom said you'd hurt your feet so we can't play for a while until they heal but we could just sit and talk if you want, or I've got some comic books we could read!"

She didn't feel comfortable at all speaking in front of a group of people she didn't know but she didn't want to be rude either so she just nodded, smiling very fleetingly before looking back down and leaving an awkward silence but the boy called Carl soon broke it again, "Well mom said not to bother you for too long because you just got into camp and are still settling in but we'll come by tomorrow some time and I'll show you my comic books!"

Cassie's mom saved her from having to reply, coming up next to her and putting her hand on Cassie's shoulder, "Hey guys, I'm Jenny, Cassie's mom. Thanks so much for coming over and introducing yourselves to us, we're a bit all over the place right now because we just got here but once we've settled properly I'm sure there'll be plenty of time for you all to get to know Cassie and play."

The kids all nodded and said bye before running off again, except Carl who lingered a few seconds longer to smile at Cassie, "Nice to meet you! See you later okay!" then ran off to join the others, not bothering to wait for a reply he knew he wouldn't get.

"They seemed nice." Her mom smiled down at her teasingly.

Cassie tilted her head up to look at her, showing an unimpressed expression that made her mom snort, "You never know Cassie, maybe you could make some friends while we're here."

"How long are we gonna be here?"

"I don't know sweetie, however long it takes for the government and army to sort this mess out I suppose. But, until then we'll be staying with these nice people so you might as well get to know them yeah? Who knows, maybe you'll even find some people you actually like." She ruffled her hair.

"I like Daryl."

"Really? Actually? I know you said he seemed nice, but you don't usually take to people so quick." Her mom was visibly surprised.

Cassie shrugged, unsure how to properly explain why she liked him or trusted him so quickly.

Her mom hummed thoughtfully, "Alright, just be careful around him and anyone else in the camp alright, we don't really know them yet. Make sure I always know where you are and don't go off with another adult alone okay?"

Cassie looked pointedly down at her feet and back up at her mom making her roll her eyes, "Just... when your feet are healed obviously. I know what you're like; disappearing off where no one can find you and while that can be useful in certain situations, I always need to be able to find you while we're here okay?"

"Yeah okay." Cassie replied without conviction.

"Well that was reassuring." Her mom told her dryly.

Cassie shrugged at her with a cheeky smile making her mom ruffle her hair and push her head lightly, "Alright Cheeky Miss, watch yourself."

Later that day Lori comes back over with a man, "Hey guys, this is Shane, he kind of runs things in camp here just making sure things go smoothly and everyone gets along, he's a cop back in our hometown."

"Hey girls, Lori told me y'all were here. Sorry I didn't come over earlier to introduce myself and welcome you but I've been busy round camp today. Why don't you come on over to the fire pit for dinner and you can get to know everyone in camp."

Shane initially seemed like a stoic, dangerous kind of man but when he spoke he immediately came across more kind and approachable than his first impression.

"That would be fantastic, just give us a few minutes to get over there would you? I've got to carry Cassie over."

"Of course, We'll see you over there." He led Lori away as she smiled kindly at us.

It took some time and awkward shuffling, but her mom managed to get Cassie on her back and over to the fire pit. It was easier then for her mom to kneel in front of a log and lower Cassie onto it to sit, releasing her and taking a seat next to her.

Lori hands them bowls filled with beans and cups of water for dinner, not the most appetising of meals but food was food at this point.

Cassie spotted Carol with her husband and Sophia sitting a bit away from everybody else at their own smaller fire pit for dinner, she thought it odd but was relieved more than anything else that she wouldn't be close to Sophia's father, she could easily tell he wasn't someone she wanted to be in sight or reach of. Daryl wasn't there for some reason and Cassie wondered where he was and if he had something for dinner.

"So Jenny, how did you and your girl come to be here?" Shane asked as they all dug into their dinner.

"We were on our way to Atlanta, headed for the refugee centre they had set up but we didn't make it in before they dropped the bombs, thank god."

"And Daryl said he found you and your girl wondering the woods?" That interested Cassie, it seemed Daryl hadn't explained exactly what had been going down when he came across them in the woods. Daryl knew these people better than her and her mom and must have a reason for leaving that information out and they certainly weren't about to bring it up.

"We were with my husband and some family friends when they dropped the bombs and everyone got stuck in traffic on the road, people were getting restless and worried and we didn't think it would be smart to stay and be there when people began getting scared and desperate so we headed out into the woods but some of those… _things_ found us and neither our friends nor my husband made it. Cassie and I were just lucky Daryl found us before the same thing could happen to us." None of that was technically a lie but it certainly implied something different than what went down. Whatever was going on with the adults around her, Cassie knew keeping what happened in the woods with her father a secret was important but also knew she was unlikely to be able to keep up with the secrets and lies and would mess up so decided then and there that if any adults tried questioning her about it she would go quiet and refuse to speak or run and find her mom.

"I'm sorry about your Husband and your friends, it's a good thing you're both here with us now, you'll be safe here in camp. We're far enough in that those things don't come but not so far that rescue won't be able to find us once it comes." Shane reassured her mom.

Her mom thanked him and spent the rest of the dinner talking to other camp members and getting to know everyone while Cassie was quiet, observing everyone.

So far besides Sophia's dad, no one stood out as dangerous or someone who should be avoided but Cassie knew that sometimes people were good at hiding their true selves and that those kinds of people could be infinitely more dangerous than the ones who are obvious in their dangerousness.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Wow, this has been a long time coming and honestly it is a short chapter that I am not so happy with, it has just been a drag to get past the set up really and I've had a lot of things keeping me from writing, but after this chapter we get into the tv show so I just wanted to get this out and move on.

Cassie was hiding in her and her mom's tent in the hopes of avoiding the other people at camp, though mostly just the other kids in camp. Her mom was eager to get involved this morning and contribute to the camp so Carol suggested she could help her out with some of the daily chores such as washing clothes and gathering whatever fruit and mushrooms they could find near camp.

Before she left, she told her some of the adults had an agreement to keep an eye on the kids while their parents were busy so if she left the tent then she was to keep within eyesight of Dale, Amy, Carol or Lori at all times. Not that she could just get up and wander off yet anyway, with her feet still healing.

"Cassie?" A voice called from outside the tent.

She recognised the boy's voice from yesterday, it was Carl probably come to show off his comic books that he mentioned yesterday.

"Are you in there?"

She kept quiet, hoping he'd think she was off somewhere else if she didn't reply. There was a sound of awkward shuffling then footsteps leading away.

Cassie relaxed, letting out a relieved breath. She was not ready for awkward interactions with other kids.

It wasn't much later that another voice was calling for her outside the tent, this one softer and feminine though Cassie couldn't quite place it. She crawled over to the entrance and poked her head out, the sun blocked her vision temporarily until the figure stepped over slightly to obscure it behind her revealing one of the sisters from yesterday, Amy she thinks, the one who was excitable and bubbly.

"Hey! Your mom wanted me to check in on you and make sure you weren't spending the whole day hiding away." She smiled kindly.

"Hey!" the sound of running got closer as Carl skidded to a stop next to Amy, "You must have been really tired because you slept in super late!"

She glanced over at Amy who looked amused but kept her mouth shut.

"Ah yeah, I haven't slept much since… everything." She murmured.

"I didn't either for a few days but the camps safe, so you don't have to worry here!" he seemed almost bursting with enthusiasm, his grin splitting his face.

She made a generic noise of agreement, unsure of what to say.

"Why don't you go get your comics to show Cassie, Carl? You guys can hang out for a while and get to know each other while the other kids are busy so you don't all overwhelm Cassie."

"Yeah!" he practically shouted before bolting off.

Cassie glared at Amy slightly but she just smiled down at her with a mischievous glint in her eye, "Better to get to know them bit by bit than having them all crowd you, either way they're going to bother you so you might as well get it over with now."

She sighed and crawled fully out the tent, awkwardly making her way over to one of the camp chairs and pulled herself onto it being careful not to put any pressure on her feet.

"Well, I'll leave you and Carl to get to know each other but I won't be far if you need me or there's also Dale who'll be by the RV."

There was a brief, beautiful silence left in her absence before Carl returns smiling widely again, without bothering to ask he moves the other camp chair so it lines up right next to Cassie's, pressing against her own and plops himself down onto it.

He spends the next hour or so showing her all of his comic books that he brought with him and talking her through every single one of their plots and characters, barely stopping to breathe. He seemed content with Cassie's hums and grunts of acknowledgement as her participation to the conversation for the most part although sometimes he appeared disheartened at her lack of enthusiasm for something he loved and that he was excited by. He never stayed upset for long though, quickly bouncing back to being smiley and excited again.

She knew she was giving off an impression that she didn't like him or maybe even was annoyed by him but that wasn't really the case. Kids in the past who had attempted to befriend her and met the same responses had quickly given up and moved on but Carl seemed determined, maybe it was only because the options for friends at camp was severely limited but still, he could have more fun hanging out with the other kids than her surely. Yet he persisted with her despite how one sided the conversation was.

Honestly, she actually liked his enthusiasm and ramblings about his comic books, even though she couldn't say they were her kind of thing, it was still amazing to her how happy talking about them made him. She enjoyed watching the way he lit up as he spoke, though the words he was spouting went in one ear and out the next without her really registering what he was saying.

Cassie couldn't remember a time when she was ever so enthusiastic about anything. She enjoyed reading but it was a quiet sort of enjoyment, gotten from the escape it affords her from her life at home and her loneliness at school. It was not something that made her light up when she spoke about what she was reading like Carl does with his comic books.

Eventually, even he seemed to run out of things so say though and his voice petered out to an awkward silence. He looked around the camp, his eyes darting back to her and away often, clearly searching for another topic of conversation to rid them of the awkward silence when his eyes fell on her bandaged feet.

"My mom said your feet got hurt really bad so you can't walk for a while…"

His voice rose slightly at the end like he meant it as a question despite the fact it was a statement. Cassie tilted her head questioningly at him, trying to get him to ask what it was he really wanted to ask without having to speak up.

"How'd they get so bad? What happened?"

Cassie shrugged before taking a breath and quietly muttering, "We were walking a really long time."

Carl nodded at her, accepting that as an answer without prodding her for more of an explanation.

It was then that she noticed Daryl walking off into the woods with his crossbow on his back. Carl watched her as her brow furrowed, "Daryl seems kind of scary, but he must be alright if he helped you and your mom and brought you guys here."

"I don't think he's scary." Cassie's voice came out clear and strong this time.

Carl stared at her in surprise before smiling widely at her, "Yeah, he's alright, isn't he?"

"Hello." The timid girl's voice startled Cassie who hadn't seen her come up on her other side as she and Carl had been talking.

"Hey Sophia!" Carl called out.

Cassie recognised her, the girl with the father who reminds her of her own, who she wants nothing to do with. An awkward silence descends over them, Sophia shuffles her feet while looking uncomfortable and Carl keeps looking back and forth between Cassie and Sophia as Cassie avoids looking at either of them.

Talking in front of Carl was bad enough, she couldn't bring herself to speak in front of both of them. She spent her life trying her best to keep attention off of her, having two inquisitive kids give her their full attention was nerve wracking and not something she wanted. If she could walk still she would have gotten up and walked away but she was stuck in this chair unless she wanted to get down and crawl away, which she kind of wanted to do she was that desperate to get out of this situation but that would look stupid and probably draw attention from everyone close enough to see.

"Hey kids!"

'_Oh thank god._' Cassie thought as she slumped in relief at the interjection. It was a teenage Asian boy that Cassie thinks she may have met yesterday but she can't remember his name.

"Hey Glenn!" Carl called back.

'_Ah, so that was his name._'

"Just came by to see if there was anything you kids needed; I'm going on a run into Atlanta."

"You're going into Atlanta?!" Carl yelled in surprise.

"But my mom says it's full of those things." Sophia added in a small, worried voice.

Glenn smiled at her, ruffling her hair. "I'll be alright. I'm going to stick to the back streets and get in and out as quick as possible. Plus, I'm super-fast so even if I see any of those things I can just run in the other direction and lose them, so no need to worry about me okay?" Sophia nodded and smiled shyly at him before he left.

The next few days continued on in the same manner, the other kids coming by to keep her company and chat at her while she nodded along silently. Sophia was quiet herself and Cassie found herself enjoying the companionable silence when it was just them, though Carls chatter was also nice even if she often found her mind straying while his chatter became a sort of white noise in the background.

Glenn and the Dixon brothers came and went multiple times over the days, the Dixon's on hunting trips and Glenn into Atlanta for supplies. Cassie found herself uncharacteristically worried about them, Glenn and Daryl anyway, Merle Dixon mostly made her uncomfortable.

Due to Cassie's father and her quiet personality she never really made any friends or connected with people, she was used to only caring and worrying for her Mom but whether it was the close proximity of the people in camp or that the looming threat of her father was gone, she found herself opening up more to the people in camp.

Glenn was her favorite easily, he was kind and funny and didn't mind stopping to chat with 'the kids' that were mostly overlooked by the rest of the camp excluding than their parents, also he made sure to come and ask them if there was anything they wanted him to look out for when he took his trips into the city.

Her feet healed slowly as the days went by and she grew closer with the children in camp, not that she began being much more vocal, but the others got used to her silences and didn't seem bothered by her quietness as they got used to it. She would still join the other kids in their games like tag but tended to fade into the background more often than not, preferring to watch a lot of the time.

She didn't really understand why herself that she wasn't comfortable speaking aloud to anyone but her mom, maybe it was how long she spent in the woods not speaking then being in a new place full of strangers after what she saw but she just couldn't bring herself to properly open up. Though she would try if Daryl ever came back around, she had seen him from across camp, knows even that he has noticed her watching him whenever he's with sight, but he refuses to come close enough for her to actually speak to him.

The only people she interacts with at all are her mom, Glenn, Amy and the other kids. The majority of adults in the camp are not people she wants to pay her any attention, Like Ed, it did not take long for her to confirm he was just the same type of man as her father was. She went completely out of her way to ensure she did not bring herself to his attention though it hurt to watch Sophia and her mom have to be near him knowing what kind of man he is.

Despite wanting to avoid Ed and going out of her way to stay off his radar, she couldn't help but like Sophia. She reminds her a lot of herself, probably in the worst ways, but it still had her feeling a connection to her. They were both quiet, but it didn't make their interactions awkward anymore, it was a comfortable silence between them now.


End file.
